There is elegance in simplicity and ingenuity in simplification; indeed, some of the most ingenious advances are the replacement of complex, trouble-prone, expensive and cumbersome devices or ideas with simple, straight forward and effective devices or concepts.
This is a crowded art.
The prior art is replete with machines for positioning golf balls to permit the golfer to practice his or her swing. One such device, for example, deposits a ball in a cup, the cup swings horizontally on a pivot around to a give position and the cup is caused to release the ball at a given point, on a tee for example. The golfer must wait for the cup to swing essentially back to its retracted position before beginning his or her swing.
The prior art is also replete with systems, installations and machines that detect some or many aspects of the golfer's swings. Several video camera systems position one or more cameras to record a swing, or a portion of the swing, of the golfer coupled with various other equipment are disclosed in the prior art. Many systems that require that the golf club be provided with a reflective strip or spot, with a magnet, or with some other detectable device, or which require the use of special clubs, are disclosed in the prior art.
Systems are disclosed that detect the position of the golfer's feet, back, arms, etc., or which require that the golfer assume a particular stance or position add a further dimension in this crowded art, often with little or no advantage.
Exemplary of the prior art are devices disclosed by White in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,630,829 and 4,477,079.
Golf swing analyzers that track the entire swing, or a large portion of the swing, in one or more dimensions, are disclosed in the prior art.
It is an object of this invention to provide a machine, and method of operation, that combines three important features. The machine of this invention is simple and inexpensive, as compared with most devices of the prior art. The machine positions the golf ball and lets the golfer position the golf club for the swing, and even practice the swing, during the positioning of the ball and permits the golfer to complete the swing while the positioner is being retracted. The analyzer provides accurate data display, and printout if desired, of the two most important characteristics of an effective golf swing.